Afterdark
by Nitz X
Summary: New recruits for Princess Luna's Night Guard find themselves facing unknown threats that seek to harm Equestria. Working from the shadows, they struggle to give the Mane Six a fighting chance against those who would harm Equestria. (Story is complete, but in the process of being moved over from another site)
1. Chapter 1: The Choice

Whoso would be a man, must be a nonconformist. He who would gather immortal palms must not be hindered by the name of goodness, but must explore if it be goodness. Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of our own mind. Absolve you to yourself, and you shall have the suffrage of the world.

-Emerson, _Self-Reliance  
_

* * *

A few weeks had passed since the new recruit had transferred over to a new base just south of Canterlot. Plenty of ponies tried to pronounce the foreigner's name, but everypony with half a brain had defaulted to "Reddling," instead of trying to pronounce things they cared very little about learning. To the rest of the base's population that did not have half of a brain, but rather a full mind capable of logical thinking, they had invented him the title of "Shrimp" for their undersized squad member.

Reddling was not a big pony by comparison to the Equestrians that now surrounded him, and there were many mares that looked more like stallions than he did. When his size was combined with his abrasive personality and a name like "Rahding Rain," he had not become popular among his fellow soldiers. Mares avoided him completely, and stallions were only nice until they realized they were hitting on another boy.

Being in the Equestrian defense force wasn't something that really gave Reddling thrills. Sure, some stallions wanted to defend the Princesses, some even hoped that there would be some kind of war in another land so they could prove themselves heroes. That's what a normal pony would want, but no one is here to read about normal ponies.

* * *

Reddling had been specially chosen for his task. His mission was to dispatch the Princesses of Equestria, and return home a hero. Back in his homeland of Silverfield, only the church was allowed to determine what a Cutie Mark meant, and they had deemed that his was to be a mark of revenge- a golden and black oak pen laid across a stunning silver hilted blade. It'd been over a year since Reddling had left his home, and just when he felt that he might never move towards his goal, a chance presented itself in the form of a flier attached to the wall outside his barracks.

The red pony had been quick to tear down a small blue and purple flier, stuffing it in his mouth before sulking back to his barracks and staring at it carefully when nopony else was around. For the rest of the day, Reddling had stared at the flier every time he got a break. Most of the page was filled with patriotic idioms and sayings that meant nothing to him, however the center of the flier had three lines to clearly name it's intention.

 _"Night Guard tryouts are tonight._

 _Become one of Princess Luna's personal guards._

 _Tryouts tonight at 10:00 PM"_

"Right..." Reddling said with a slight squeak in his high pitched voice. He brushed his purple mane away, only for the hair to drop back into place over his red coat instantly. Bringing a hoof up to his chin, he began to ponder the thought of committing to some bizarre tryout. It was the perfect chance to stand out from the rest of the ponies here in a good way. Whether it was his accent, size, or coloring, it seemed like all of the bullies here had some reason to make him the odd pony out.

 _That, and the lack of Pegasus ponies in Silverfield. No one likes boring earth ponies in Equestria._ Reddling rubbed his shoulders and upper back at this thought, wrapping himself in his blankets for a moment and watching as the sun outside began to sink lower. Reddling watched from under his covers as ponies streamed in, discussing their plans for the night. After some muffled words, one pony approached his bedside, looking down at him.

"Eh, Shrimp, We're going out drinking tonight. Wanna come along?" The pony seemed genuine enough, but Reddling only pulled back the covers and stared at him with eyes of iron.

"No… Have a shot for me, will you?" The response was dry, but friendly enough for the pony to give an uneasy laugh and turn away.

"Hah! Suit yourself… And will do!" The pony turned back to his friends as Reddling blinked once, thinking about how the booze here was next to piss and the company little better.

* * *

Nightfall came too quickly for all the recruits heading outside into the shadowy night. Reddling had been the first to arrive at the field, and had been standing at attention from the moment the sun set. Strapped to his back was an ornate silver hilted knife, the only worldly possession that he considered of any value he kept on his body.

A few unicorns lit their horns as a gaggle of ponies gathered at the field, all of them waiting for something to happen. As if some internal clock was running in his brain, a stubborn looking old earth pony arrived, standing in front of the recruits. The dub for him was "Iron Hooves", although Reddling wasn't sure if that was his actual name or simply a description of the pony's heavy trotting. Normally Iron Hooves had an unforgiving demeanor about him, but tonight he only seemed to be tired.

 _He's almost a bit reserved. He knows that most of us are not going to make the cut to be guards._ Reddling thought, looking straight ahead at the figureless darkness. Suddenly there was a flash of lights as some outdoor lights came on, and the ponies all fell into three ranks, gaining dress and cover until they all looked like neat little ducks in their rows. The commander looked left then snapped to attention as a blue figure came into view, emerging straight from the shadows and staring quizzically at the ponies gathered before her. The entire cosmos of the night sky seemed to be contained within her mane as she looked at each of the potential recruits individually.

 _So that's her. She's everything the legends said- cruel, mysterious, and haunty._ Reddling's thoughts echoed as a murmur of "Princess Luna" rippled through the poorly disciplined ranks. _But that's not what gets me. It's… the voice._

Everypony nearly buckled as Luna's loud voice rang in their heads, bouncing off of every nearby building, plant, or object unfortunate enough to be caught in her screech _. "Soldiers of Equestria! You are here for the chance to join the Night Guard! This is a prestigious honor that is reserved to only a few. Only the best and bravest may earn the right and the burden to become one of the Night Guard!"_

Reddling stared straight ahead as he soaked up every bit of her words. Every single part of her speech reeked of evil, just as the church had told him when he was growing up.

 _"Do you understand the obligations to which you are volunteering?"_ Luna continued, addressing the crowd, which had long since been quelled of what anypony could consider to be poor discipline, quickly nodded, giving their full fearful agreement. Reddling stared straight ahead, not moving or talking while at attention. Luna stepped back into the shadows, her eyes shining like gems as the night drew in around her like a veil. "Commander Iron Hooves, you may begin."

Luna spread her long, feathery wings with a sound like air had been sliced before taking off into the night sky. It was not until she was well out of sight that the commander dropped his serious façade, taking on an almost jovial appearance. "Alright! Only the best and brightest are good enough to be in the Night Guard, and that means knowing how to fight. Pick up a training weapon and pair off, Top 20 advance!"

There was a stampede as the recruits scrambled to grab the best practice swords, knives, or claws. Everypony wanted to grab the nicest dull iron weapon there was, since of course, these decommissioned weapons had to absolutely be the best. Reddling however, just stared at each of the recruits with little concern for their tugging or trading of weapons, picking up a nice quarterstaff in his mouth before approaching the field.

Pairs were quickly made, and the groups began to share a little banter before the spar. A happy looking Pegasus was fast to pair up with Reddling, grinning at having found an opponent that was so much smaller than him. Reddling blinked his eyes slowly at the medium sized Pegasus, measuring up his strengths and weaknesses carefully.

 _He's using a wooden short sword, a very poor choice on his part against somepony with a staff._ Reddling thought. Cocking his legs and leaning back with his rear slightly raised, Reddling held the staff in his mouth, eager for the match to begin.

There was a shrill bursting of air before Iron Hooves called out "Standard sparring rules. Have at it!"

 _Your move, Pegasus, you filthy, Equestrian Pegasus._

The pegasi leapt into the air, spreading out his wings and readying his sword for a vicious strike as he bared down on the unmoving earth pony in front of him. Reddling could almost hear him laugh as the sword began to swing in its savage arc. Unfortunately for the Pegasus, this was also the same moment that Reddling chose to move.

Hitting his belly and rolling to the side, Reddling shifted the quarterstaff so that it was facing straight up at the pegasi. With no time to react to the lighting quick movements, the pegasi let out a painful "Unngh!" as the butt end of the staff knocked the wind right out of him. The pony crashed into the dirt at Reddling's side, already beginning to pick himself up.

 _No mercy, for your kind, dirtbag Equestrian._ Reddling almost felt the words slip out of his mouth as he swung the quarterstaff in a full force blow onto the back of the Pegasus's head. There was a crack in the air as the Pegasi stumbled to the side a bit, worse for the wear but not yet down and out. Spreading his wings and cocking his sword, the pegasi raising himself in a poorly mimicked defensive stance, slowly beginning to pace in a circle with Reddling.

The next few moments were quite a blur for Reddling, because it seemed to happen all in one second, one blink of an eye. Planting his quarterstaff in the ground, Reddling lifted himself up on the wood and flung himself skyward, trying to land a kick in the face of his opponent. The next moment he found himself back on the ground, hooves shaking as he caught himself, the sting of the blade slapping his burning side.

Another crack sounded, although this time it was not from wood, but bone hitting bone as the two colts headbutted each other, stumbling back. The pegasi seemed almost totally unphased, but Reddling found his head ringing, the sides of his vision shaking slightly. Neither pony wasted any time in readying their weapons before they clashed, locking fiercely. Reddling finally saw his opening as the pegasi charged again, his sword ready and his balance off. Sidestepping and smiling as he held the quarterstaff, Reddling simply watched as the pegasus tripped. A smirk crossed the earth pony's lips as his next move came without thought.

With another crack and a thump, the back of the quarterstaff found its mark on the back of the pegasus's head. Falling to the ground with a small moan of pain, the fight seemed over to observers.

 _It's not over, you stupid winged Equestrian_. The pegasi rolled over to find the tip of the quarterstaff burying into his throat as Reddling hissed down at him in a cold tone devoid of empathy or compassion for his fellow recruit. "Surrender your weapon."

The pegasi looked shocked at the small earth pony now towering over him, but let his sword go with a cry. "Ah! I yield!" Reddling just kicked the sword aside, watching his defeated "comrade" sulk off the practice field. All around, other pairs were finishing their combat, only to hear the shrill whistle cutting the victor's eardrums.

"Still too many! Pair up!" Iron Hooves yelled out at the field. Quickly approaching Reddling this time was a unicorn, who held what seemed to be the staple Equestrian weapon- another sword.

Despite a little magic help here and there, it did not take long before Reddling found himself rolling around in the dirt with his enemy, trying to bite or punch their horn as hooves pummeled his chest and face. Panicking, the unicorn quickly resolved to lift up a square of dirt and throw it into his grappler's eyes.

Blindness wasn't a happy thing for Reddling. Although he did snarl in anger, eyesight wasn't something he required to continue beating the horse below him into submission. The furious blitz between the two grew more and more heated until finally Reddling curled back his hoof and released it, slamming forward for the enemies head will all his might.

The blow connected dust as Reddling felt his ribcage rock from a blow, and the two descended again into their punching and kicking fit. With both of them heaving for air, the fight at last broke off as Reddling landed a painful blow into the stomach of the unicorn, making them gasp as the wind was knocked clear out of them. Rasping for air, the unicorn laid his hooves out, ceasing to struggle and lacking the air to get anything out.

 _You should say you surrender._ Without hesitation, he spat in the unicorn's eye, swinging a hoof to bash the unicorn's horn. The unicorn managed to let out a little whimper as his eyes bugged out of their sockets. Not satisfied, Reddling rammed his hoof again into the unicorn's horn, smiling down at the feeble cries of stop now echoing from the unicorn's throat.

"Do you surrender?" Reddling asked as he brought his knee up into the pony's gut again. The unicorn nodded, curling up and coughing out his agreement. Grabbing the unicorn's sword, Reddling tossed it into a pile with the other one he had taken, waiting for the whistle to be blown again. All around, the fights began to finish up, and it became apparent that only about 16 ponies were still in the clearing. Lining up with heads ringing and small gasps of pain, the victors stood proudly next to one another, ready for whatever came next.

Iron Hooves was approaching now, but his demeanor had completely shifted once again. He looked nervous now as he gazed at every one of the recruits in front of him. "Good job… You've passed."

Reddling stared straight ahead, blowing some air up to push his purple mane back as the commander continued his spew. "All of you will have the opportunity to demonstrate your skills for the Princess herself, after which she will decide whether you will advance and begin training as a Night guard proper."

Silence fell over the group. Overhead, the full moon beamed down on the field, casting an eerie glow on everything. Shadows darted and danced between anything and everything, playing to each other the song of their kind. Not distracted, Reddling stared forward, every one of his peers standing like statues. The commander snapped his head to Reddling, gliding over the grass without a single sound as he barked at the earth pony.

"And what are you doing here, Earth Pony? Do you think you're good enough to make the Night Guard?" The commander's eyes stared right at Reddling's grey pupils, which betrayed neither emotion nor any response.

The commander continued with a smirk, holding back what almost felt like laughter in his voice. "Look at you, minuscule Silverfield runt… we don't need any _weak_ little _flightless_ , _hornless_ dirt ponies in our ranks… why don't you just turn around and leave? Save us all the trouble…"

Reddling's mouth gave an ever so slight twitch, but outwardly, no emotion showed. Below the surface of his facade however, everything was on fire, burning with violent anger and hatred. _You racists, you damned racist! One day… one day you'll see…_

"Do you think you're going to do what your ancestors couldn't? Greater ponies than you have tried and failed."

 _You disgusting racists._ Reddling's mouth twitched much more violently than before this time as he gazed at the commander, who seemed to now be enjoying taunting his victim. But things were changing now. Reddling could feel heads turning as the eyes of every one of his peers swept their way to him. He wasn't sure why it hadn't struck him before, but now it was obvious- there was not a single face unadorned with a horn, or a single side lacking a pair of wings. The lone earth pony in a crowd of other races, put on trial for a tirade of faces to silently judge in the moonlight. Reddling's thoughts were broken as the commander snapped at him again. "Turn and go! You're not good enough for this!"

Finally, Reddling turned his head to stare at the commander. He no longer cared if this was a test, he was going to speak his mind freely. "I beat your unicorns, and pegasi. I'm the only earth pony here. The best of my class. If you've got an issue with it, breedist, feel free to pick up a practice weapon." Every word was cold and deliberate. Each word challenging, but not threatening.

Narrowing his eyes, the commander leaned in, "You think we're going to let a Silverfieldian near our Princess? She'll see right through you. Even if you do get near her, do you think you'll beat her? You're hopeless. Go home, Reddling. Get out."

 _How can they know? There is no way for them to know!_ Reddling's thoughts raced as he spat out his quickly thrown together excuse. "Why would I need to beat her? I just need to take down anypony that neighsays my ability to protect her."

The commander leaned back slightly, a slow, evil smile spreading across his face. "You talk in your sleep, Reddling. It's time for you to go. Turn and leave, and we'll let you live." All around him, Reddling could hear the shifting of hooves. The whole world suddenly seemed much darker, the mad faces of his peers glaring at him with empty expressions.

"You're trying to get me to give away something, it's not going to work." Reddling said coolly, watching everypony he could with his eyes as they began to crowd around in a mob.

"We already know, scum." said the commander. Reddling raised his quarterstaff as the ponies prepared themselves to pounce. "This is your last chance. Go, and we'll spare your life, and the life of your countryponies."

It was a split decision. Reddling swung the quarterstaff forward, smashing it horribly into the face of the commander, hard enough that his skull should have cracked.

Instead the quarterstaff connected with dirt, passing right through the commander. Glaring at Reddling, as his incorporeal face continued to smile evilly. Reddling had only a moment to blink before the wraith began to fade away like a wisp of smoke.

Reddling found himself standing in a field with his peers. Pegasi, Unicorn, and earth ponies alike were standing at attention, vacant looks on their faces with various expressions shifting through them. Fear, hate, anger, sadness, all equally impressive and deep emotions coloring the lines of the recruits standing in their line. Reddling felt himself hit the ground as he exclaimed to the grass. Across from him, Iron Hooves sat with sides wingless and forehead hornless. Next to him was Princess Luna, who had her horn aglow. Iron Hooves looked extremely uncomfortable and upset with what was going on around him, almost as if the pain of what he was witnessing went way past the physical level. Grabbing his knife with a hoof before being prepared to draw it into his mouth, Reddling stared at the commander and the other recruits, ready for a fight at any moment.

One by one, the ponies began to react. Some turned and trotted off the field, their face the portrait of vacancy mixed with distance, confusion, or more often sad and angry expressions. But nearby, other ponies began to snap out of the trance, lucidity returning to their eyes as they stared confusedly at the field around them. Looking at the mare closest to him, Reddling spoke quickly to her.

"What did you see?" The mare quivered at the question for a moment, before looking forward with a determined expression. Another pony fell to his knees on all fours, looking at the ground. "My family… My mother, father, aunts, uncles, and brother, telling me to come home… I…"

 _Enough_. Reddling thought as he stood up. "Everypony stand together, whatever is at work here is wrong and unnatural!"

"They can't hear you." Iron Hooves piped in, looking at Reddling.

Struggling to hide his inner anger while every nerve quaked with a fight or flight adrenaline, Reddling stared blankly at Iron Hooves. "Who, or what, are you, and what do you want of me?"

"I am your commander, and I'd like you to know that you're prepared to join the Night Guard." Iron Hooves said matter of factly.

"What of the others? What happened to them?" Reddling asked, slowly pulling himself up and relaxing slightly.

"They are being tested, just as you were. They will either pass, and stay, or fail and leave." Iron Hooves said.

"I'm not really in the profession of leaving others behind. Give me your test, we'll pass it, and drag the others across the finish line with us." Reddling said, but Iron Hooves quickly ended his protest.

"No… this is a test of wills. Of the mind. It is their test alone to pass or fail." Reddling bit his tongue as he looked at the commander, trying to ready his next question for a few moments.

"Nopony should have to stand alone, but so be it, this is your test. Where is the next objective?" Reddling asked, trying to keep attitude out of his voice.

"Not my test, her test." Iron Hooves corrected Reddling, motioning to Princess Luna. The Princess was still standing totally still, entranced in casting her spell.

"Who is giving the test is irrelevant. You're dodging my question." Reddling pressed.

Iron Hooves muttered something that Reddling could not hear about "magic" before continuing his unhappy observation of the recruits. "You're still here, you've passed."

Letting out a sigh, Reddling finally relaxed, looking at the commander. "Forgive my skepticism, I don't exactly trust magic to not have some hidden trick." _But I did it… ahaha, haha, I did it! I'm into the guard! I'm actually doing this… I'm so close I can taste it!_ Reddling laughed internally to himself as the clearing finally left nothing but lucid eyed recruits looking very confused. Most of the ponies had left, their motions mocking their bodies as if some new duty had arisen, striking some terrible insecurity in their minds.

With a snap of her head, Luna left her trance, observing the ponies standing before her. For several minutes, nopony said anything. Sitting down with a wince of pain, Reddling rubbed his back near the spine, working on the muscles until they stopped tensing up and returned to normal. After what felt like an age, Luna finally spoke.

"We must apologize. Such a test of the mind can be painful, painful in ways that ponies ought not to experience. But to join the Night Guard, one must be strong not just in body, but in heart, mind, and spirit."

 _I'm fully committed to my goal Luna, Not even your alicorn magic will make me waiver. I cannot fail… ahaha._

"Those of you who are left, you are worthy of joining the Night Guard. Congratulations. We would like to meet with all of you privately, then you will be transferred and admitted into the guard. You will begin your training tomorrow to be a loyal soldier of the Night. Come." Luna turned to leave, and leaving their training weapons where they fell, the commander and other recruits all moved ahead of Reddling. The world around them seemed to blur, paths, streets, and buildings melting together until a few walls stood around them in the dimly lit Canterlot Palace. Only six ponies remained now, those who had been deemed "Worthy' to receive admittance to the Night Guard. Reddling did not bother to take in the hues of green, grey and blue shuffling past him as everypony settled into waiting to be called.

 _I don't want to wait with these breedists… these racists._ Almost as if she had read his mind, Luna motioned to Reddling.

"We wish to speak to each of you in private, would you like to begin?" The Princess of the Night asked.

The words rolled off of Reddlings tongue like smooth silk as he smiled. "It would be an _honour_ , Your Highness." Smiling at the pleasantness, she motioned for him to follow as she went into an adjacent room, every movement dignified, radiating a proper princess manner.

Entering close behind, Reddling found himself suddenly in a dark room. Some faint light seemed to gleam from an unknown source, casting everything in a greyish dim light, something like the dusk on a night in midwinter. Behind a desk sat the Princess, with commander Iron Hooves posted at the door.

"First let us personally congratulate you on your success. What is your name?" Luna's voice was coy and measured.

"Reddling, Your Highness."

"We watched your performance as you sparred. Truth be told, success in battling is not just to judge your ability to fight, but also the manner in which one fights. You were quite ruthless." Luna betrayed nothing with her words, stating everything and a fact that could not be negotiated.

"Show your enemies not mercy, for you shall receive none. History shows this, Your Highness." Reddling felt his back give a twinge as he said the last part, but now was no time to rub a tense muscle.

"Hm. What did you see in your vision?"

For a moment, everything stood still. Reddling could never tell her exactly what he saw; it would most certainly mean death on site. But he could be abrasive and speak very generically. "Your Highness, ponies judging me. Judging my…" Reddling turned to look at his back, and the lack of wings. "A handicap if you will, Princess. I… I was told I could not succeed, to go home," _go home, or they'd kill me…_ "… I refused, and- and I stood my ground. When they tried to force me to waiver, I fought back. After that, I was lucid."

Luna only seemed to half muse over the words that Reddling gave her before leaning forward, twirling a pen absent-mindedly for a moment before setting it back down. "Your accent… You are far from home. What has brought you to our lands?" Her voice was not hostile, and her mood did not seem to shift an inch. Even so, Reddling could not help but shiver as the temperature in the room seemed to drop below freezing point.

"Monsters don't discriminate. Enemies are relentless. A tirade of threats could face us any day. If trouble begins, it- it will consume Silverfield, and they cannot protect themselves." Reddling felt his nose twitch as he forced out the next part, which was only half a lie. "I'd rather surrender myself to… an Equestrian order, than see it burn… the silver fields just burning, I think you can understand, Your Highness." Looking up from the pen, Reddling met the eyes of his foe, trying not to betray the fear that was grinding into every one of his bones.

Luna's words graced the air as she slowly nodded. "Though there has been animosity between our nations in the past, such things are long past, and ought to be buried and forgotten. Perhaps you may be the one who bridges the schism of the past, and this shall be your chance to prove yourself." Reddling almost wanted to burst into song and dance as an internal smile spread, pushing away all of the fear drilling inside of him.

"This position carries its benefits, both in opportunities to learn and serve, as well as rewards. Though, given your heritage, I doubt you are interested in the money. For most, the salary is sent to family. Unless you have some kin in Equestria, we will have your funds saved to an account for later." Luna continued her statement looking away for a moment before her eyes shifted to stare directly into the bitter soul of the pony before her. "I assume you understand what you are volunteering for."

It took no thought for Reddling to nod. "I would like a small sum to send back home, if that is possible." _Rainy… I wonder how you're growing up? How are you doing in that old fortress? I never could seem to repair anything that well on my own._

Reddling's thoughts were interrupted as Luna spoke once more. "Of course, it is your money to do with as you please." Luna slid a long paper towards the edge of the desk. "Simply sign here and we will transfer you from your current position."

Every bit of the paper seemed to be covered in little shelves of text, all of it in a nigh unreadable font. Most of it spelled out inconsequential jargon that made no sense to even the ponies that wrote them, but the few spots that stood out were the waivers of liabilities, transfer of duties, and definition of terms. At the very bottom was a place to sign.

 _I'm going to regret this, aren't I?_ Reddling took the pen in his mouth and scrawled his signature across the paper, returning to an attention stance once he finished.

"Very well then, are you ready?" Luna mused, nodding more over Reddling's shoulder than to him.

"Yes, Your Highness." From the corner of Reddling's eye, he saw the commander step back a bit as the lights went out, everything going dark. A terrible sinking twinge of panic hit Reddling as something deep inside of him cried out for him to flee this room. His heart began to beat out every single beat it could, the room dark as the deadest of winter night, a chilling black that wrapped around you endlessly like a spinning ride. It was only a few seconds before Reddling could feel the cold permeating his limbs. Maybe if he could have applied thought processes to whatever was happening, Reddling might have had a word for all of this- or at least something to calm the cold sweat rolling across his body.

From the darkness, a hoof suddenly wrapped itself around Reddling's neck, and a second placed itself on his head. Reddling screamed like a small filly, and while indeed his voice did not actually sound far from it, nopony heard the cry. There was a prick, like something digging itself into Reddling's neck a he fought whatever was holding him. Spasming, kicking, screaming, and crying, he tried to fight off whatever had its vice like grip on his body.

Everything was fading, going cold and dark, then numb. At first, only the room and physical features faded away, but then every memory seemed to be fading.

Fighting with every ounce of energy, Reddling gave out a few more feeble kicks, all of which struck out and ached like his body had fallen asleep and gone numb. Whatever the wound was, it was sapping all of the strength out of him, draining his power like a plug pulled from a bathtub or the bottom being kicked off a barrel.

 _No… Don't die, please, please don't die. I-I don't want to die!_ Reddling was crying on the floor, his body shaking as the last few feelings of being a pony drained away. The last words he heard echoed in his head before it all slipped away, the darkness stealing the world away.

 _"Pleasant Dreams, Reddling Rain."_

 _…NO!  
_

* * *

 _I feel… cold…_

Reddling could finally feel something again as he awoke, trying to make sense of anything. Nothing that he tried would come to mind though, and the only thing that seemed to make sense was that he was in a bed under some warm covers. Unable to come to a single better conclusion for the next best move, Reddling curled himself into a fetal position and sobbed into the pillow. Warm, hot fury was striking the fabric until it became damp, the smell of salt becoming steadily more and more potent as despite his best efforts and small stature, Reddling's crying was more along the lines of a small filly than a colt. Everything seemed so lost and confused, nothing would make sense at all, but the salty air felt good to breath in.

After what felt like forever, Reddling found his face dry. With a hard rasp of breath, he finally pulled himself up, but not out from under the covers to see everything. The sound of his breathing was like an echo of death rattling around the room and cutting the air before splitting the throat of its creator from the inside out. The room was small but respectable, private albeit dark. The bed was comfortable and had warm sheets, although the only window here seemed to be shut with several blinds, no light leaking through. The only glimmer of light came from a small crack in the door, where a letter had been slipped through.

Reddling didn't have a problem making out the shapes of everything in the dark as he pushed out of bed, crawling across the floor to the letter and fumbling with the packaging before it was opened. As he wormed across the floor, Reddling took in the scarcity of anything in the room. There were no decorations, and only a small bag that seemed to hold clothes and a knife shaped package rested against the bed. On a small table nearby was a full suit of purple Night Guard armor, but it was difficult to get a good look at it from the floor.

With a little "ah!" of excitement, Reddling got the letter open finally, and began to scan the brief contents. The letter was written on what he was sure was the thickest parchment know to ponykind, but the fancy writing on it was par to none.

 _Reddling:_

 _Your training begins tonight, at the training field, at sunset._

 _Princess Luna_

Looking outside at the light, Reddling only crawled on his belly back to his bed, picking himself off the floor and cowering back under the covers, waiting for the sun to set. Getting back into bed had given him the weirdest feeling though, like the sheets had suddenly become very uncomfortable on his back and sides. Putting the feeling out of his mind, Reddling simply tucked himself in, not caring for the echoing sounds of his breath as reasonable thought began to return with the grogginess of sleep fading. [i]Odd hell here… is this what it feels like in hell? Did I die? No… it can't be.[/i] Reddling reached a hoof up to grab his neck and feel the side. There was a small prick here… yes, he was quite sure that recently he'd sustained a wound here, but nothing that should have been really serious. Not ready to wrestle with what could possibly have happened, Reddling again buried his face in his pillow, breathing his own hot breath back in for a few moments before pulling up and gasping hard for fresh air.

Reddling couldn't help but feel a pain on his sides… how weird they felt. _But they always felt weird, Silverfield doesn't have Pegasus ponies. They always felt this way._

 _No! Different!_ A tiny voice echoed in Reddling's mind, invoking him to only roll around in the covers, his most favorite pastime. Voices were a common part of living, but right now he was in no mood at all to have a reasonable conversation arguing against himself. After judging what must have been an hour, the voice in his head got extremely irritated, yelling at him to get out of bed and check his back already. Looking for a mirror as he jumped up, Reddling turned his head to look behind him, his hooves prepared to quell a terrible itch.

They were long and dark, crossed with blood vessels, skin, and bones. At the end, they had claws that looked like partially functional fingers of some manner. These could have been pulled out of any reasonable storybook.

 _What, I don't…?_ Before Reddling could even give himself another thought, he felt everything go black, the sound of his body thumping the ground echoing around the room as he fell asleep once more.


	2. Chapter 2: Fruit Juice

The evening was a cruel mistress that arrived far too quickly for Reddling's tastes. The light coming through the crack at the base of his door had dimmed a good deal. The red pony pulled himself up, not exactly sure what time it was. The room he was confined to was quite spartan, lacking clocks, curtains, or mirrors. The windows were totally boarded up, allowing only small cracks of blighted daylight to burn the room. The only amenities left to him was a bag of his old clothes, his knife resting on top of it, and a set of armor laying on a desk in the corner of the room.

Giving his head a soft shake to make the room stop spinning, Reddling pulled himself away from the greatly uncomfortable hard wooden floor while brushing sawdust out of his coat and mane. The world did not make much sense yet, but there was a thought etched into the back of his mind, as if a branding iron had given his brain its own cutie mark. It was the sight of those long, skin covered bony wings on his back, currently folded up comfortably on his sides. Despite every membrane of his body vibrating with repulsion, Reddling knew now was not the moment to be contemplating what had transpired since the painful bite on his neck.

Trotting over to the armor on the table, Reddling separated it carefully into all of its parts. He had read about the Night Guard back at his home, but he wasn't sure what was truth and what was fiction. Night Guards were not exactly common, and generally bat winged ponies were rare in appearance. Even before Luna had returned, it was common knowledge they existed in small numbers. The job of these small numbers had remained a full-fledged mystery though, and most ponies were not too eager to approach the Night Guard with questions that they probably wouldn't answer anyway.

It took a moment before Reddling realized he'd moved the same parts of his armor across the table to different locations at least three times. He'd carefully studied the different blue plates and their leather straps. The leather straps on the underside of the plates did not seem like they were complicated in attaching, and the uniform had cloth that covered most parts of the body and legs. While it surely would look nice when worn...

Reddling found himself absolutely dumbfounded at how impractical and entirely useless the armor presented to him was. A breastplate that only covered roughly half of his chest was split into two glorious bat wings which connected to a large blue bat eye in the center. The crest at the center looked to be made of some sort of odd crystal that reflected what little light was in the room gently. This illuminated the "bone" parts of the wings on the chestplate. Both sides of the breastplate, when attached, offered a shining sort of effect that made their lighter parts glimmer even in the relative darkness of the room.

The sides of the armor were one long piece that laid across the back that neatly hung down either side to cover the ribcage. The flank had some loose fitting armor pieces that layered themselves into what almost felt like a skirt, although the way it sat on the hindquarters felt all too wrong to be a proper dress attire.

Reddling stared down at the last remaining piece of armor on the table, having slowly attached the archaic armor. It was a striking helmet adorned with symbols of the moon on both sides with a darkened visor to cover the eyes in the middle. Room was left on the mouth area to expose most of the cheekbone and chin. Reddling simply could not imagine any use that this armor would have for protective purposes, and the helmet seemed not only trivial, but ugly. Shaking his head and pushing his purple mane back, Reddling turned away, leaving the helmet where it lay.

Trotting to the door, Reddling stopped, looking down at the light filtering itself through the crack. Vampires would fry to a crisp in the sun, this was common knowledge to anypony who read old texts. Sporting a look of mild bemusement to himelf, Reddling slowly cracked open the door, peeking his eyes out for a few moments to see where he was.

The sun lit his face on fire, quickly making its presence known. Reddling slammed the door shut as little figures danced in front of his face, marks burned onto his vision that made most of the room look like holes had been sliced out of it.

 _I never did like the daytime_. Reddling quickly retreated with his aching eyes back to the table and slammed his helmet on, closing the shaded visor over his eyes while cursing to himself. Peeking back outside before fully opening the door, Reddling noted the sunlight was far more bearable on his eyes now, and he could make out where he was. There were a few different buildings built around a practice field, and the entire area seemed to be a private enclave in the mountains. The autumn sun was setting behind distant hills, casting long shadows over the enclosure.

Mumbling angry words that were forgotten the moment they were spoken, Reddling trotted to the practice field. Locking his eyes straight ahead, He snapped himself to attention, every bit of his mind aching with the thoughts of his transformation. _I_ _don't really care about it, it's part of the job, I was ready to make any sacrifice... I knew that I might have to make some changes to accomplish my mission._

* * *

The sun finished setting in the distance, and soon four other bat ponies had fallen in right next to Reddling. _They all used to be regular ponies… but now they're just animals. I'm just an animal, like them…_ Reddling felt his body shake in fury a little, but otherwise betrayed no emotion or signal to others around him. From the corner of his eye, it was possible to see that some of the others appeared to be shaken about the transformation as well, either looking at their wings of feeling themselves over. Still, beside them stood the other two ponies that seemed to be almost happy about the turn of events. At the end of the line was a blue pony that was almost bouncing with joy at the current situation, mostly notable because he was slowly inching himself forward and away from the neat line the rest of his comrades were in. Reddling just could not shake the fact that he was so utterly repulsed by all of them.

Night wind began to move through the mountains, and a tingle of euphoria seemed to tap at the muscles of all the bats in the clearing. Despite the joy that the nightfall brought on the inside, Reddling shrugged it off- this wasn't something he planned on getting used too. One by one, the others all raised their visors to study the sky, leaving Reddlng the last one to allow his bright silted eyes to glow as they stared into the young night.

There was a sudden and faint squeal above, then a heavy thud as a bat pony landed in front of the group. Quickly folding her wings, she appraised the group before her with yellow glowing eyes. She took a moment to study individually them before clearing her throat to speak.

"Let me be the first to welcome you to the Night Guard! I am Web, I'll be taking care of you!" Her voice was light and had an air of childlike energy about it. It was the kind of energy that flowed into those around her, whether they wanted to it or not. "First things first! How many of you are new to wings?" Web spread out her long bat wings, waiting to see hooves.

 _I can't even begin to tell you how much I am hating this place. It's awful, and it's only a phase. Don't welcome me, I don't plan on staying in this line of work any longer than I have too._ Reddling felt queasy, his jaw jerking slightly as he shakily willed his hoof into the air beside the hooves of two of his fellows. Reddling knew dark things these ponies wouldn't understand, things that made him want to puke at putting his hoof up in the air.

"Alright, I'll take you for tonight. The rest of you, head up there." Web jerked her head up and to the right, where another bat pony had deftly balanced themselves on a fence post near a smaller training field. The formerly Pegasus ponies stepped back and fell out, trotting away from the formation as Web nearly bounced with her energy, looking at the group. "You lot! Any old Earth Ponies here?" Web prodded. On the right a hoof raised into the air. Reddling was simply doing all he could to not look sick at the front of the formation.

"That would m- … you two alright?" Web looked from the other raised hoof to Reddling. The other pony shook their head carefully, agreeing with a few words that couldn't be made out. Reddling only nodded slightly, hoping that maybe he could feign not being addressed. "Look, if you need help or something, speak up." Her voice was remarkably casual, as if she was debating what kind of new house plant to purchase.

 _I can't imagine myself getting help from an Equestrian. They're the enemy, and you know, so far they've lived up to every story I ever heard growing up._ Reddling found himself venomently screaming common insults for Equestrians at the insides of his mind, expression remaining cool and unaltered as he fanned his pride

.

"Well, okay. That makes you a unicorn." Web continued towards a mare at the end of the file, "Losing your horn is rough, but you'll still have some magic. Just less… focused."

Reddling had now found his limit as his heart skipped many beats. At the closer edge of the practice fields were some bleachers that could be used for observation, their unpolished underside now getting spattered with many brown fleck that possessed small, half-digested bits of food in them. Although he had not eaten in some time, more than enough bile was able to work itself up over and over again. When at last the torment was over, Reddling found himself resting on his knees, gasping for breath. There were tears in his eyes to compliment the empty and exhausted feeling inside of him, but there was another feeling in his body, something wrapping itself around the bones and muscles, infecting them with a coldness.

There was a soft sigh behind him, and then a hoof on his shoulder. Reddling's muscles tensed up as he pulled himself away and stumbled forward, only narrowly avoiding stepping in the mess. _Get ahold of yourself!_

"So you're not doing okay." Web's voice was gentle as Reddling felt himself on his knees again, away from the mess. Her hoof once more found itself gently and lightly resting on his shoulder, and this time he found himself to weary to pull away from her. "What's your name?"

Reddling found the question something that seemed impossible to answer. His mind drew a blank as the thoughts of years upon years of shunning other ponies to train for his future flashed through his eyes. His distance had left him ill-prepared for coping with social situations, but they had always seemed easy in theory. Slowly calming down, Reddling found his voice. It came out like something horrible and vile, like the cry of a dog that had just been kicked in the stomach ruthlessly.

"Reddling. Listen Reddling, I know this must be hard, but you're going to be okay." Web's voice was like silk against his ears, and despite everything he told himself, it was somewhat calming to hear somepony tell him he would be okay. "Lots of ponies sign up thinking it'll be a fun or cool chance without knowing what they're getting into. We'll get you on your hooves and then it's going to be fine."

Reddling managed to spit out a short "Okay!", although it honestly sounded to himself like it should have been another hurling of stomach acid.

Web's slitted eyes felt like knives in the back of his head as she looked down at him from behind, maintaining her casual tone. "Are you going to be okay? And don't give me horsefeathers, seriously." Reddling tried to nod his head yes, but found himself looking down again as he attempted to hurl, only a bit of bile adding itself to the acidic taste in his mouth. Web gave him a disapproving look and reduced her voice as he was lifted off the ground and turned to face her. "If you're really this distraught, you can go talk to Luna and see if she can't do anything for you. Otherwise, you're learning to fly tonight."

Reddling felt an odd quiver go from head to tail as his body fell into full panic, the world going fuzzy all around him. Despite his complete fear of the Princess, talking seemed like a much better idea than puking in the middle of the practice field again. "L-talk, Th-That, talk. I talk, er, I'll talk to, if, Luna." Reddling found himself needing to take another quick gasp of air, trying to bring his mind to order.

"Alright, she can do something for you, I'm sure of it. Still, if you can get through this, it'll be good for you." Although Web continued to talk, Reddling found himself barely hearing anything she said. The whole world seemed to be a drunken blur, everything hitting his brain as a slur rather than coherent thought. "You passed her test, and she chose you herself after that talk. There's got to be something special for you."

Stumbling, Reddling just managed to get one word out as his head swiveled in the direction of the smaller practice field.

"Pegasus?" Web repeated, trying to make sure she heard right. Reddling just nodded. "Alright… alright, can you get back to your quarters by yourself?" Reddling answered Web's question with another short nod, and blinked, focusing just enough on the path in front of him to make it back to his quarters. The wood door was welcoming as he nearly kicked it in, forcing himself inside.

Although the room was altogether unfamiliar to him, it's spartan quaintness had a certain primal comfort. Laying against the bed and folding his wings around himself, Reddling felt tears streaming down again, as if crying would somehow make the situation become clearer in his mind's eye. After a few moments, Reddling found his eyes and hooves running over his form. Although it was hard to be sure in the dark, his colours seemed to have become a good bit duller, and his ears had weird tufts on the ends of them that were extremely sensitive to the touch. On the face, two tips of little fangs were sticking out of his mouth, and on his sides were the bat wings. Testing them, he could feel that they were quite light, with small claws at the joint and wingtips. An odd thin membrane of skin stretched from his sides down to his claws, the whole membrane crisscrossed with different colored tiny veins.

Giving a careful breath as the tears sedated themselves for the moment, Reddling wrapped the wings around himself, trying to take in some warmth or safety from them. He hoped the feeling would be some feathery warmth, soft and gentle, something he'd always craved. Instead, he found the feeling to be more fuzzy, although it was still somewhat warm and quite comforting. Reddling connected his hoof with the base of his headboard in a furious attack, which caused an echo throughout the room. Kissing his hoof and quickly regretting his decision, Reddling simply slid to the floor, laying there in the darkness.

* * *

It might have been about an hour later before anything changed, but Reddling found his head snapping up with a little cricking noise as a hoof knocked on his door. "Reddling? You there?" Web's voice came through the door. Nodding to himself, Reddling got off the floor and opened the door, shakily beckoning for her to enter.

"W-Web right? Come in…" Reddling found his voice weak and raspy, even in his own ears.

"Luna will be by later. I brought you a snack, if you're hungry and feeling better. I don't have a lot of time, we're taking a break and then going back at it. I think they'll be flying by dawn." Web sat down a thermos of something on an end table before sitting on the edge of the bed, waiting for some response.

Reddling felt a lump rise in his throat as he imagined what must be inside the thermos. Some warm, fresh, red liquid. "That isn't … blood right? If it is, just tell me it's tomato sauce, I'd rather just be poisoned please."

"Ugh, no! Jeez, it's just juice!" Web responded exasperatedly.

"Juice sucked right out of a pony?" Reddling asked to nopony or anything in particular, his eyes focused wildly at the ceiling. "How should I know, I've got these, these, bleh!" Extending his left wing, Reddling just stared at it. It hung exactly like the wing on his right side did, each a mirror of the other. a feeling of dirtiness grew in him as he felt his world twist. Part of his brain told him to attack the wing and tear it off, while another told him to hug both to his body.

"Whoa! Hey!?" Web called out. Reddling blinked a few times at the feeling of the floor pressing against his body as Web bent over to check on him.

"I, Night Pegasus, can't, ugh." Reddling shut his mouth, looking bitterly at the floor as his mouth refused to form words correctly. After a few moments, he breathed in deeply. _I can do this… but still, why does she care at all?_ Reddling thought as he willed his voice to work. "G-Go work with the others, I'll be fine."

Web rose up, her face colored with concern. "Listen, get yourself together. Get some food inside you, and try to relax. The Princess can fix you up. This won't be the first time something like this has happened. That's an order, alright?" Reddling only nodded to her order as she nodded and headed for the door. "Alright, and good luck."

"T-Thanks." Reddling mumbled, looking down as his mind contemplated the odd bat. _What does she want with me? Go away._

"No problem." Web replied, hooking the door with one of her claws to shut it on her way out. Shakily, Reddling slid off his armor and neatly put it on the table next to the thermos, which he was not yet brave enough to touch.

Long minutes turned to even longer hours as Reddling tossed and turned in his bed, waiting for Princess Luna to arrive. He had found that it was very uncomfortable to lay on his sides now, and resolved to make a new habit of sleeping on his belly. Eventually hunger pains began to make themselves known, but he pushed them out of his mind for the time being, still unsure of how his stomach would handle food. Did bats eat the same thing as ponies? Or did he need a special diet?

Finally, after what felt like nearly the entire night, there was a knock on the door. Reddling couldn't remember making his hooves move, but he was suddenly on them, with the door open and his forehoof throwing a salute before Luna had even finished announcing her presence.

"Your Highness! Uh, welcome!" Reddling's voice came out in a bit of a gasp, something like the sound of poorly oiled gears. Luna stepped inside, making nothing of the room as she turned in her sharp princess fashion to face him.

Every word gave Reddling a twinge of fear deep inside his chest. Part of him considered drawing his blade now, and lashing out at the Princess, but he knew that would never work. The more he considered the idea, the more idiotic it seemed. When he made his move, it would need to be clever, something that nopony would see coming.

"Good night, Reddling. We have been told that you are not faring well." Luna stated in a matter of fact tone. Her eyes seemed to be giant pale orbs painting everything with a heavenly grace. Despite her usual commanding demeanor, the sureness of the aura around her gave indisputable assurance. Reddling could only muster a faithful nod to her, his voice drowned in the draw of the night princess. Luna returned his nod before continuing, "It is understandably difficult for some. Some volunteer for this not fully knowing the consequences of their choice- and we do not fault them for this. For how could they possibly know how such a thing would affect them?"

Reddling managed to shake his head. These changes to his body were not something that he was ready to contemplate or face, but there was another issue to raise with Princess Luna, a possible distraction. Reddling grinned in his head at the story he had for her. He wasn't sure if it was a lie or truth, but it was a distraction, and something he felt he needed to tell Luna.

"P-Princess, it's- it's something else I- my home, and pegasi, they… wings, this, I…" Reddling shut his mouth as his sentence continued to fall apart, blushing slightly in anger at his inability to form coherent sentences in front of such an important individual.

Luna frowned at this, still looking down. "I- I am sorry, I do not understand…"

Reddling shut his eyes and swallowed, preparing to spit out his next words. Something vile rose in his throat as he thought of Silverfield. This was a bitter hate that only his enemy would be able to grasp, or at the very least, that is what he was hoping for. "This transformation, it, takes, changes, and Silverfield has changes for ponies with wings." The last half of the sentence was right where Reddling expected an odd back ache to appear on his shoulders and upper back, but none came. The lack of this back ache was almost scary, something like the feeling of a child when they lose their safety blanket. Gulping once more, Reddling pointed at himself. "Pegasi do not fly. Bad for the church."

Luna's face was a portrait of confusion. "You- Pegasus? I do not understand."

Sitting down, Reddling brought up two hooves and clapped them together twice, his mouth twitching with every movement of this hooves. "Clip, Clip!" he exhaled. The next breath of air was a horribly bitter one, the kind with a burn akin to the aftertaste of cheap liquor. "They do it because Equestrian pegasi defeated us, so it's a healthy ritual, right? It's to control the population..." Reddling coughed the last part, trying to stand up. His legs proved too weak to support him and he felt the world spin slightly as he stumbled, barely regaining his balance.

Luna's look was one of shock and mild bewilderment. "They do what?" her voice shook, almost as if she was unsure if this was a punch line to a bad joke or a simple mindless rambling.

Reddling almost felt a bitter laugh rise with his next words. "Silverfield, doesn't have pegasi. Not anymore." Each word was forceful and said with an entire breath. Somehow, this felt good to get off his shoulders, even if it was to an Equestrian. Sinking his head down, Reddling waited for the laughter from the Princess to come, shutting his eyes as he forced out one more comment, "You have to believe me."

"I do not wish to believe that one pony could do that to another. Yet I know such atrocities are possible." Luna's voice seemed to be unnaturally kind. Reddling had always been told she was the more violent and impulsive of the heavenly sisters, but she had not shown this.

It was as she spoke, a thought occurred to Reddling. Carefully reaching around to the bat wings, he touched his back, checking for some sign of the childhood scars. All that his hoof found were the base of his bony wings, betraying no evidence that a set of parallel scars had once sat together. Reddling looked up again to see Princess Luna still frowning. She'd drawn in her cheeks slightly and looked deeply disturbed by the information she was ingesting.

"I will consult with my sister on the matter. Yet… you, it is clear that you are still deeply distraught over what has happened. Tell me, what is it you wish from this point forward?" Luna's voice was like a spark in a room of tinder. Everything was suddenly flaming inside of Reddling's head. Every bit of him wanted to cry out for the one thing he lived for, what his cutie mark had always been telling him.

"Revenge!" Reddling cried, before grabbing his chest, holding himself back and eating his word. "N-No, I just want to forget, just forget it all." Reddling shook his head, feeling some tears threatening to well up on the sides of his eyes. He had no idea why he was pouring out his heart to a sworn enemy, but it was something about Luna's energy that invoked some deeper level of emotion inside of him. The night air seemed crisper when she was around, and the world had a feeling of freshness.

"Revenge…?" Luna prodded.

[i]Her patience with me is almost unnerving… I can't believe that she's actually got any kind heart behind all of this.[/i] Reddling couldn't believe that Equestrians could act this way, that they could be so different from his country. All they had shown up this point was arrogance and hatred, yet their leaders were a beacon of morality. After not answering her, Luna simply nodded to herself, repeating the question.

"Revenge? If you wish to no longer be a Child of the Night, then there are means by which to do so." Luna said, her face turning from a grave expression to a calculating one.

There was a clang on the wall as the sheathe of Reddling's knife flew across the room. Casting away the weapon from his homeland, he fell on the floor and buried his face in his hooves once more "I wish I'd been born Equestrian, and not to Silverfield."

Reddling felt something warm around his shoulders, and it took a few moments for him to realize that it was the soft feeling of Luna's feathers wrapping around his shaking form.

"It will be alright." Luna's voice was assuring, but Reddling could only shake his head in fury.

"It won't be alright P-Princess, there will be others…" Reddling said. _There will be more, won't there?_

Luna's face looked concerned for a brief moment, but then returned to its princess like composure. "That matters not. Such things happen, which is why the Night Guard exists to begin with. What does matter now, for you, is that you decide your fate, for I would not see anypony in such despair."

 _She's more comfort than I ever got growing up in Silverfield… but I can't tell if she just wants to use me or not. I'll have to decide this later._ Reddling thought for a moment before picking his next words. "If I stay in the Night Guard… is there any chance I can still help Silverfield?"

"With what do they need assistance? If they so mistreat Pegasus ponies, then you may find them closed-minded to diplomacy." Luna spoke in a low tone, but her words were more than enough to set Reddling's mind of fire again. The very idea of giving up on talking before even trying was infuriating.

"What would you suggest then, Your Highness?" Reddling felt the cold edge returning to his voice. For a moment, he had faltered on his course, but now everything was clear again.

"…If you are trying to suggest an intervention of some sort… the Night Guard would be well suited for that- but I would avoid such- extreme measures, if I could." Luna's response was smooth and reasonable, if not exactly what Reddling wanted to hear.

"I'm not ready to come to a conclusion about any of that in this… condition, your Highness." Reddling said hushedly, looking up at her. Luna's eyes were surprisingly kind, even though she had a solid air of some great distance about her. Although she was nearly hugging him right now, Reddling couldn't shake the feeling that it was like she was on another planet.

Luna gave a nod as she stood, folding her wing again. "There is nothing that would prevent you from helping your kinsponies while you serve in the Guard. The question is: do you still wish to serve on the Night Guard?" Reddling rose to his hooves as she finished, throwing a determined salute as his mind began to buzz softly.

"Princess Luna, it will be my honor to serve in the guard." Reddling said determinedly. Despite the façade he was putting forth, nothing was stopping the buzzing from getting louder and louder as gears of murder began to turn inside his mind.

Princess Luna gave a smile as she turned to the door, completely oblivious to the insane plotting in the mind of her new guard. "As you wish. We are glad to see your will is still strong, even after such terrible distress. It will be dawn soon. You will likely wish to stay inside. Farewell, Reddling."

Still saluting, Reddling managed a small smile as she left. "Farewell, Your Highness, and thank you so much!"

With those words, Luna was gone, the door closing as the darkness of the room settled once more. Reddling dropped his salute and stared over at the thermos of juice. Trotting towards it, he could not help but give a tiny giggle. Opening up the thermos of juice, he began to drink it in fine, measured sips. It was the sweetest fruit juice that he'd ever tasted, complete with an incredibly subtle tartness that made the mouth feel as if it had been freshly brushed and flossed.

Sitting down on his bed, Reddling sipped his juice as he viciously plotted about how he'd murder this… leader, this, Princess Luna. It was time for Equestria to prepare for the backstab of the century, for the news of every hour.

In between mad giggles and angry thoughts of bloody murder, Reddling found himself eventually falling asleep on his bed with an empty thermos of juice. His mind continued to plot and brood as he passed into a dreamworld, keeping a simple thought at the forefront of his mind.

 _At last, it's time for the hunt to begin. My time will come._


	3. Chapter 3: Web

Reddling woke up early the next day, a little wet spot of the fruit juice and his own drool soaking the pillow. Today was a new day, or rather, a new night, and a chance for him to set things right. He'd been glad to learn the direct sunlight at noon didn't cause him to become a pile of ashes, although it felt uncomfortably warm. He'd slammed his helmet on and lowered the visor to keep his eyes from melting, but they still burned slightly in the light.

The daylight hours around the camp produced a feeling akin to a sleepy hamlet. The lack of activity made it a perfect time for Reddling to practice the flying that he'd missed out on the night before. His wings left him feeling oddly off balance and weird, but after a few flaps he was strong enough with them to get off the ground a few inches. The feeling of being airborn brought a small moment of happiness to Reddling that he couldn't really name as he watched the grass below him travel away as he flew forward, getting closer and closer until he fell face first into a pile of dirt.

Undeturred, Reddling turned towards the roof of his building with a sparkle in his eye as the sun beat down on his back from above.

Several hours of frustrating work gave way to little progress. As the noon sun gave way to an early midday, Reddling found himself barely able to jump and violently flap his wings hard enough to rest his hooves on the roof. The wingwork was quickly becoming an upper body workout as he repeatedly lifted himself the rest of the way onto his roof before jumping back down to earth and repeating the same process again.

Each time that Reddling found himself on top of his room it was exciting to see the whole complex. Unfortunately, it also served sore reminder that he was far away from actually being able to fly. The sun was not yet ready to begin setting when he found himself back inside, but the day had more than taken its toll. The sun felt draining, like somepony had put a straw into his neck and sucked the life right out of him in broad daylight.

 _I guess that's why they tell you not to go out after dark. There are lots of monsters, and they tend to take the oddest of forms sometimes._ Reddling laid back on his bed, tossing the thermos onto the floor and rolling up in his covers. He missed laying on his side, and it was suddenly making a lot of sense to him why pegasi chose to live in the clouds- not being able to sleep on your side without discomfort for your whole life would suck.

As the edges of his vision started to darken, Reddling couldn't help but ponder the oddity of wings. Wings, be they covered with skin or covered with feathers were more than just tools of flying, they were a symbol. They symbolized being fully the master of your own world. Pegasi could swim, they could fly, and they could run. Reddling had never considered bat wings to be the same, but they were to him a sound replacement. _If the whole world was bat ponies and Pegasi, then everypony would be happy. But there are no Pegasi in Silverfield._

* * *

 _Shapes shifted all around him, pressing themselves into form. Here and there a shadow doubted itself, throwing it's nonexistent mass directly at the evening sun. Silver grass took form, comforting the still warm earth near the remains on an old castle. Reddling watched the castle with a homesick eye, looking down a rolling hill at his workplace and home._

 _The light was not scorching him, but at the same time he could not shake the feeling that he didn't belong felt very wrong for him to be out in the sun, and even more foreign for him to be home._

 _Steeping forward, Reddling instantly found himself tracing his hoof over rough stones jutting out of the ground, whipping his tail at the various debris or construction supplies resting under tarps. Another step, and the entire castle seemed to move by like a blur until the throne room presented itself. The room lacked any grandeur, any splendor that might have impressed visitors had faded to the halls of time. At the back of the room sat a large stone throne that seemed to be ancient. On the left was a smaller throne, and to the right was the most well kept, albeit the smallest, of the thrones. Several cushions had been thrown onto the seat, and a small earth pony was sitting there, flipping through the pages of a large tomb and mumbling to himself._

 _Edging himself forward Reddling looked over his own shoulder at the book. All the text seemed to be melted together into something he couldn't recognize. His younger self giggled, then uncomfortably reached behind himself and rubbed his back. When the hoof found its way back to the page, the colt drew his hoof across the page and left a smeared streak of continued to leak out of the book, dripping onto the throne, cushions, and finally the floor with a soft patter like raindrops._

* * *

" _No!_ " Reddling sat up with a horrible gasp, grappling with his covers and pillow, biting and punching them in vicious effort to throw off his fabric assailants. Reddling finally found his way above the covers just in time to topple onto the ground, landing on his wing with a groan while somepony knocked twice on his door.

"Hey! You awake?" Came a somewhat familiar voice, but he couldn't make out who it was through the fogginess of sleep and his total disregard for learning the names and faces of any Equestrian around him, much less their voices.

his confusion at the voice quickly shifted to panic as the words sat in and he jumped to his hooves, running over to the armor sitting ready to be put on. hastily attaching the plates and cloth to his body, Reddling looked over his shoulder and yelled at the door, "Yeah, yeah! Just let me finish armour stuff!"

 _Dammit, you puked on the first day, and now you're late on the second day? They're going to kick me out at this rate._ Reddling thought as his helmet rolled on the ground and he flung open the door, ready to toss a salute at whoever had decided to call on him.

"Wait, it's okay, it's still daytime!" came the voice, although the second part of it was drowned out by a screech of pain that echoed horribly around the room and the outside area. Reddling threw himself behind the door, cowering away from the sunlight as his mind seemed to cook itself from the broiling heat in his eyes. "Oh shoot, you didn't- ah!" Reddling heard the pony walk in and shut the door behind them. Their step was light, and had it not been for the click of their armor, Reddling wasn't even sure he would have heard them come in.

"You okay?" Reddling finally recognized the voice as that of Web, the pony who had brought him the juice before… and the same pony who had watched him puke his guts out behind some bleachers. Removing his hooves from his eyes, Reddling stood up with his eyes sealed shut and snapped to attention, facing what he hoped was where Web was standing.

"At ease." Web replied. Reddling could feel her eyes watching him as he relaxed. He slowly opened his eyes to look at her, blinking to get shapes to stop blocking parts of his vision. "But seriously, are you okay? The stupid sun sucks until you get used to it."

Reddling felt his head operate automatically. "I'm fine." He said. Web herself lacked a helmet, but did not seem to be in any way affected by the sun.

"Did you talk to the Princess?" Web queried. Reddling stared stupidly at her, his heartbeat picking up as he memorized every feature of her face. she seemed to him to be one of the most classic bat ponies he'd ever read about, a true specimen of the night.

"Yes… Yes, er, ma'am." Reddling corrected himself. Web leaned in, her amber eyes meeting his in a personal way he had not felt the previous day. It was a moment Reddling instantly decided he would never forget. Somepony might have found her eyes alluring, but for him they were frightening. They were mirror-like oval plates that reflected his own eyes brightly back at him, which had altered their shape and become somewhat more misty than he remembered. Despite the eagerness Web displayed in getting information from him, there was something wrong about her. In the same moment she seemed to draw him in with some sort of bat-like charm, but in the same notion he felt utter repulsion and unrequitable fear.

"Well?" Web leaned in further, tilting her head at him as she stretched out her word. "What did you decide? I assume you're sticking it out, since you're still here."

 _You think that I would turn my back on my honour? On my only goal in life? That I'd forget my revenge, my cutie mark, and my destiny? I mean, this is what my cutie mark is-_ "Yeah, I'm staying." Reddling said, keeping his voice completely neutral and emotionless.

Web was silent for a moment, just looking at him with those large amber eyes before she leaned back. "Well you don't sound very- excited. Or interested… Something still bugging you?"

"Excitement can lead to making mistakes, I'm honoured to still be here despite my miserable performance last night." Reddling replied.

"Well, Yeah. About that! Since you missed last night, I thought I'd get you out early and show you around." Web said casually, leaning against his bed and picking up his helmet from under his desk, where it had rolled to a halt.

 _You want me to spend time with a random Equestrian, in the searing pain of the burning sunlight while wearing a dorky helmet?_ "Sounds good, uh, just lemme finish putting my armor on."

"Yeah, of course." Web said, offering him his helmet. Reddling put it on and checked the rest of his armor to make sure it was in order before going to his knife and picking it up from where he had thrown in the night before. Belting it on, he turned to Web again.

"Ready?" She asked, scanning his armor over as Reddling nodded.

The sun outside was unpleasantly warm as it had been before, although thankfully his eyes were not burning away this time. Web herself was looking straight down at the ground, her eyes squinted nearly shut.

"Anyway, this is where everypony lives. Training field's there. You know that." Web said, and Reddling returned her statement with a nod. Somehow Web must have noticed it, because she turned towards a few larger buildings. "We've got officer's quarters, staff and command headquarters, a commissary, and a nice little bar for winding down." Web looked up slightly, shooting him a fangy smile, but Reddling only nodded. It wasn't that he didn't want to talk, but he felt the more he spoke the more likely somepony would laugh or question his accent- or even worse, just simply not understand what he said at all.

"You hungry?" Web asked, turning both of them towards a medium sized building. "You haven't had anything aside from that stuff I brought you, have you?" They both stepped inside the dimly lit building as Reddling shook his head no.

"I just assumed I could suck blood or something." Reddling blurted out as he took off his helmet inside the building. Shuttering his eyelids together briefly before looking at Web, he was prepared for her to slap him at making such a general stereotype.

Turning to face her, Reddling saw that Web's mouth was gaping at him. After a moment she burst out into a squeal of laughter. "Oh drink blood, that's hilarious!"

Reddling rubbed his neck and frowned at her, running his hoof along the bite marks there. "Fine, bad joke."

"Oh, uh, were you serious?" Web asked, her laughs repressing themselves into quiet snickering.

"They bit me." Reddling said sourly, his mind dwelling on the thought. Everything around him seemed to shift out of focus for a second, colours distorting as the errie thoughts of his own insanity provoked themselves. _Somepony bit me, and I have no idea who the bat was that sired me, but I'll get revenge for this…_

"-rough, but that's just how it works." Web said, Reddling only catching part of what she told him. "Most ponies do kind of get… freaked out at that part. That sort of thing is how all those nasty rumors about bat ponies get started. No, we don't live on blood and stuff. We eat the same stuff ponies do." She looked at him in the eyes with her same repulsing allure, "Mostly!"

"Mostly?" Reddling questioned. _I see, so you just look like monsters. I guess that makes you a little more acceptable._

"We'll get to that later though. Seriously though, breakfast?" Web asked. Reddling looked at the early evening light filtering through the blinds.

"It's dinnerti-" Reddling stopped, once again feeling his mind grow sour as his mouth gave an involuntary twitch.[i] Bat ponies…[/i] "-Yes, sounds… nice."

"Well come on then." Web said, waltzing into the mess hall, which looked as though it could not sit more than two dozen ponies maximum. The place was totally empty, which suited Reddling fine since he was not one for company, although the serving counter also seemed to be totally empty as well.

"They seem closed." Reddling commented, putting his helmet down and rubbing his chin. _It's dinnertime, this place should be packed- …bat ponies… they're all bat ponies…_

"Nah." Web said, walking up to the counter and bellowing. "HEY, TIME TO WAKE UP, PONIES!" Reddling edged away to the door, grabbing his helmet and putting on a shocked face. _Maybe if I act like I just got here, then it won't look like I have to have special treatment for being less competent._

After a few moments, an earth pony poked his head out from the kitchen, looking out at Web. "Damn it Web, you're not supposed to be up for another hour."

"My friend had a late morning and an early night. Got anything ready?" Web asked as Reddling re-approached the counter, somewhat sad she had not thought of something else to say.

"All the cold stuff." The earth pony said, looking over at Reddling. "What'cha want?"

Part of Reddling wanted to ask the earth pony for blood just to see what would happen, but finally defaulted to looking at Web for an answer. She just turned her head to look at him and giggled.

"Uh, hm… Uh, food. Good food…?" Reddling managed, eyeing the earth pony.

"Out here, all we have is crap food." The earth pony said sourly.

"Fruit?" Reddling offered.

"Fruit it is." A plate of apples, pears, and a mango landed on the counter, rattling and shaking a bit as it came to a stop in front of Reddling. He couldn't help but nod in agreement with the earth pony about the crappy food. Somehow, the Equestrian cuisine had not lived up to his homeland, and had even served to make him sick for the first few weeks that he had been in the lands.

"Cold oats, mangos, and some hay, dearie!" Web called to the earth pony. Grunting, the earth pony actually brought out the plate and offered it to Web before turning back to his work. Web grabbed the tray and balanced it on her head as she waltzed to a table, skillfully dropping it off and sitting down. Reddling found himself sitting across from her, setting his helmet and plate down before looking down at the mango. The earth pony grumbled something unintelligible as Reddling poked the mango, trying to make out what sort of food they were trying to kill him with. Despite the fact he had eaten very little lately, he didn't feel hungry at all, and Web was doing little to build his appetite across the table.

Web had instantly attacked her mango, shredding it's skin with her teeth and fangs before ripping at the soft fleshy inside, flecks of juice covering her face and the table in front of her. Reddling picked up and apple and stuck it on his fangs before sucking, trying to see if he could draw any juices out of it. His fangs easily pierced it's skin, letting it's delicious juices seep out as he sucked in, drawing out the life from the tasty fruit. After a few loud slurps, the apple was little more than a limp, shriveled husk, hanging onto his fangs.

"So, why'd you sign up?" Web asked as Reddling took his knife out, discreetly using it to slice up his pear and remaining apples. He slowed his cutting only slightly as he thought of some sort of excuse to give her. Reddling was silent as he attacked his fruit, not meeting Web's gaze. He knew exactly why he'd signed up, but of course he could not tell Web that.

"Shrimp beat those other ponies, so here I am." Web herself took out a small knife as he talked. It had a small spider made of jade inlaid on the handle, and seemed to be of very fine craftsmanship, although not as nice as his own knife. She wiped the blade on cloth before she cut an apple into bits.

"Could I borrow that cloth?" Reddling asked, holding out a hoof carefully.

"Uh… hehe, no, let me get you your own…" Web said distantly. She searched a small pack on her side for another cloth and drew it out. After examining it for a moment, she deemed it satisfactory and slid it over to him. Reddling quickly cleaned off his knife and put it away, storing the cloth in a small pouch on the inside of his armor. Web turned back to him, continuing with her thought.

"Well, yeah, you were good enough to get in, but that doesn't really explain why you signed up."

 _I need a good excuse, but not a lie, I bet these bats can taste lies._ "Uh, I saw a notice. I read it, and decided I'd show up. That's all, Ma'am."

"Wait, so you didn't know what you were doing and just signed up?" Web asked.

"I read the contract, and I agreed to it. I don't remember getting bit in there, but as it goes." Reddling's mouth twitched as he finished, recalling the look on Ironhooves' face as he told him to go home, and they wouldn't kill him.

"Oh my goodness no wonder you were freaking out! Most ponies sign up because they're super passionate about the Night Guard, or want to start again with a new life, or are after the prestige and honor and mystery and all that- and you just walked in and went for it?

"Yes, I walked in, and the eq- the other ponies decided to use swords. I was one of the first to finish the… test. Here I am." Reddling said, quietly comparing the smug Equestrians to the backwater Silverfieldian he had known in his young life.

"I'm kind of surprised you stayed, given how badly you were taking it last night. I guess your talk with Princess Luna helped… Well, we're glad to have you with us." Web said, examining an apple slice before she took a bite from it. Reddling said nothing and quietly tackled his food, trying to finish it before she had time to ask him many more questions.

"So, where you from? Never heard anypony who talks like you. The way you roll the rrrrrs." Web mimicked. Reddling dropped his mango onto the plate, where it clattered around with the other remaining fruit.

"Ah! Uh, I'm not from around… uh, far away, pretty far south."

Web looked at him for a moment, chewing an apple slice before swallowing. "Ah, I see. I understand if you don't want to talk about it. Someponies have a past they'd rather leave behind. If you feel more comfortable about it later, feel free to talk about it. I won't press you."

 _No, it's not that…_ "I'm not hiding anything… there is just nothing worth knowing. What about you?" Reddling asked, hoping to change the subject away from himself. Web replied with a half choked sound threw an apple slice. "Where are you from? If you want to say that is."

Web swallowed and spoke slowly. "Up north. Had some trouble with some things, and had to go. Joined up with the army for a bit, and saw this as a change to start all over." She shot him a smile full of her fangs again. "Working out pretty well so far."

"Okay." Reddling said pointedly, turning to his food as the earth pony began bringing out hot food and setting it up for serving. The other bats began pouring in, some of them looking over at Reddling and Web before focusing on the most important meal of the day.

"Hey, since you missed last night, want me to give you some tips before tonight? We'll get you in the air and you can catch up, no problem." Web asked him as he stood up.

"Uh, okay." Reddling said, standing up with her.

"Alright then, one moment." Web dropped the cloth she had used to clean her knife on the ground and produced a small match. She lit it in an instant and dropped it on the cloth, watching it burn quickly before stamping out the flames.

"Okay!" Web said.

Reddling pointed at the cloth. "Uh, should I?"

"Nah it's fine now." Web said.

 _Well, that isn't strange at all! What was that even about…?_

Outside, Web gave a quick rundown of the wing's functions. She described all of the different parts as well as how to flap properly, the best ways to keep balance, and how to use legs to point yourself in the correct direction. While the explanation was very quick, it was effective enough for its uses.

"How far behind am I? Will I be up to scratch for tonight?" Reddling asked as they finished and the other bats began to leak out onto the field.

"Hmm, yeah. You'll be alright." Web said, and Reddling nodded, giving her a verbal thanks as his mind began to twitch. Everything had felt wrong today, from enjoying a meal with her to the personal lesson. The very idea of thanking an Equestrian for something like this seemed absurd, although Silverfield had done him no favors in preparation for this.

Training was spent in silence on Reddling's part as he angrily lashed his inner feelings out at his homeland and the unfairness of such a place. Flying was hard, but when he found himself actually airborn for the first time, the feelings of joy were almost too much to keep inside. Still, Reddling breathed in cool night air and did not allow himself to betray anything to the other bats learning to fly beside him.

When midnight arrived, Web ordered that they land and go have lunch. Reddling took a seat over by the stands, looking out at the practice field and resting his tired wings. A green pony walked by and looked over at him shyly.

"You coming?" he asked. Reddling turned his head to glare at the fellow bat, considering his reply.

"Not hungry." Reddling said. The green bat stood there for a moment, eyeing him bizarrely at the pronunciation of his words, but eventually shrugged and took off the join the others. Reddling found something peaceful about the night, he always had. It was a great time to meditate and clear his mind. Something about the serenity of the stars and cool wind seemed to keep the voices in his head at bay, even if it was only for a while. It was a crisp, cold clarity of thought found only at this time of day.

* * *

After practice everypony hit the showers. They were all competent fliers by the end of the night, but it was clear that Web and the green bat who had spoken to Reddling at the stands were far superior to rest of them. While the others gave each other idle banter and good natured teasing about training, Reddling found himself slinking out of the showers area and towards the mess hall. He'd considered drinking his own blood for fuel, but the redundancy of such a move soon registered with him as he pushed open the doors to the mess hall.

The earth pony was right where he had been left in the afternoon, lazily sitting behind the counter waiting for something to happen. "Do you have anything quick?" asked Reddling.

"Got some hay fries that should be fast." The earth pony offered.

Reddling nodded to him. "Can I get that and a mango?"

"Yeah sure." The earth pony quickly slopped together a plate and slid it out to Reddling, who nodded thanks to him and then went to hurry through his meal. While he had the mango dead and dry pretty quickly, it didn't take long for the green bat to arrive. Reddling payed him no heed and just stuffed his mouth full of hay fries before tossing the rest of his food into a bin and leaving for his home. The green bat looked like he wanted to say something as he raised a hoof, but Reddling was already gone, leaving the pony to look down in dismay. The sky outside was starting to change colours and become brighter, but they were no trouble as every little home here seemed to be locked down with boards over the windows and blinds brought down all the time.

Reddling quickly let sleep find him when he returned to his quarters, although rest itself was out of the question. He tossed and turned all night, having various dreams about being told to turn back and go home by the commanders. Many of his dreams faded as soon as he awoke, but they were only to be overtaken by more dreams that took root as soon as he passed into dreamland again.

In the morning, he found his pillow damp again, although it wasn't from drool this time.


	4. Chapter 4: Brands and Sobriquets

Reddling pulled himself out of bed again, looking at the floor and scanning the vague evening sunlight that was fighting its way through the crack at the bottom of his door. Each night was rough, and they had only gotten worse since he'd arrived in Equestria. Putting another nights events out of his mind, he strapped on his armor and knife before heading outside, staring at the glaring lights through his visor. The sun was still bright and uncomfortable, but it didn't sting like it had before.

Reddling found his way to the mess hall, carefully following the green bat who had entered just before him. The green pony seemed to be quietly admiring the food that had been put out by the earth pony, who looked sour as ever behind the counter. Reddling quickly ordered hay and mangos before taking a seat and looking back over at the counter. While the green bat looked contemplative, the earth pony seemed to be impatient and bored.

 _That's the same pony that looked nervous on the first day. At least he didn't puke._ Reddling turned back to his food, munching on it and letting the scene be.. After a few more moments, the green bat sat down diagonally across from him, holding a small plate of food and staring straight at Reddling, obviously hoping to catch his eye. Reddling shivered a bit as he felt the pony's eyes tracing over him, but did not look up to meet his comrade's gaze.

"So- you stayed?" The bat asked. Reddling simply nodded, and the pony continued. "It's- weird- isn't it?" The pony tried, obviously looking for some sort of conversation. Reddling sighed, realizing that the pony was not going to give up the febble attempts to make small talk.

Reddling slowly chewed a mango and swallowed, looking up at the pony. The bat across from him had emerald eyes that shone like bright little gems. His gaze was not unpleasant in the way that made Reddling on edge when he looked at Web, but there was still something odd about looking into the eyes of a bat pony. "Not really." Reddling replied simply, looking back down at his food and poking part of his mango.

The pony was silent for half a minute, looking at his own food before pulling his head up again, keeping his tone low while expressing every word carefully in his smooth tenor voice, "So- what had you so spooked? If you don't mind me asking."

"Bad memories." Reddling half-lied.

"I see…" The bat replied. Reddling lifted his head sharply, looking at the pony with expecting eyes, waiting for more conversation to come from him.

"Uh, I'm Tops." Tops offered Reddling an uneasy smile.

"Reddling." Reddling replied, quickly chewing on some hay. Three other bats entered the room, talking with each other and making their way over to the counter. Reddling quickly tried to finish some of his meal before they finished ordering. A medium blue stallion with a fierce face and a book for a cutie mark sat down next to Reddling and opened his mouth, but Reddling was already up, moving to toss the rest of his food.

"You're not staying?" Tops asked. Reddling stopped and blinked his eyes slowly while looking at the trashcan, which was little more than a large metal bin with a sack in it.

"Uh, I'll meet you outside." Reddling said, shoving the food away and moving around to the entrance of the building. There was a double set of doors here, and Reddling opened both of them, but let only the outer one close, holding the inner door open out of sight as the sound of voices filled the air. For the first time, Reddling found himself thankful for his tufted ears, as he's sure he would not have been able to hear the conversation inside without the improved hearing he now possessed.

"-finally found somepony quieter than you." A strong voice said.

"Oh shut up. He didn't want to talk." Tops replied.

"Did you at least get his name?" A soft voice said. Reddling remembered that there had been one mare other than Web in their company, and guessed it was her talking. Reddling twitched his ear as they got quieter, trying to make out more of the conversation.

"Did he at least say why he was so freaked out?" The strong voice asked.

"No, I didn't press him. Everypony has something to hide. Leave him be." Tops said pointedly. Reddling slowly let the door close without too much noise before opening the outer doors and heading to the practice field. The sun was now nearly set, painting the sky with a dull orange and a fiery red. Reddling found his way to the soft grasses of the practice field where he curled up, shutting his eyes and letting a blank mind come over him as he waited for the others to join him. It was hard to sit on his side with his wing now, but he had found an odd sort of half leaning that seemed to make it acceptable.

* * *

When the sun had set, Reddling heard the hoofsteps of three other ponies coming. Opening his eyes, he saw Tops awkwardly flying towards the field as the other three trotted along, coming to a stop at the field and talking amongst themselves. After a moment the blue pony broke away from the group and trotted over, looking at Reddling straight in the eyes. This pony had sapphire eyes, something like a deep gem that had not been properly cut to reflect it's true shine.

"Reddling, Yes?" The book pony asked, brutally slaughtering the name with his Equestrian pronunciation. Reddling winced before correcting him.

"Rah-ide-ing, Uh, actually, just use Reddling. Everypony else does." Reddling said quietly, looking away from the pony.

"Apologies sir. I am Midnight Tales."

"You don't have to call me sir, I'm not old yet." Reddling said, ruffling his purple mane and looking up, trying to make sure any possible grey hairs were covered. Reddling looked back at Midnight Tales and smiled weakly. "Uh, good to meet you."

The words came out false and distant, almost like he was distracted. Midnight didn't make a point of it if he noticed, but returned the smile. "Riding, then." Midnight said, pronouncing the name as closely as Equestrian syllables allowed him too. Midnight turned away to the practice fields and was almost instantly replaced by a large grey stallion with a hammer on his thigh.

"Reddling eh? I guess 'cause you're red?" The pony seemed serious about his question, despite a small smile on his face suggesting a trick.

"Sure." Reddling said, trying to turn towards the field. The grey pony stepped with him, staying in his line of sight.

" 'That your real name, or did'cha pick it yourself?" he asked.

"Both would be correct." Reddling said coolly, cursing the Equestrian race in his skull.

"I'm Bruiser. Pleased ta meet'cha." The grey stallion offered Reddling a hoof, which Reddling glared at with distain.

"Likewise." Reddling snorted, forming up with the others and walking around with their little group as they did various brief stretches in their walk, warming up for practice. The mare said nothing, and seemed to be off in her own little world. While Reddling could more than respect this, he drew himself closer to her.

"You're the only name I don't know- Who're you?" Reddling could feel the own chilly false warmth in his voice this time.

"Nightshade." The pony said, not even bothering to make eye contact. Reddling drifted away from her as Web landed at the practice field, giving the order to fall in. Practice proved to be more generic training that felt tedious at this point. Web apparently felt she couldn't accept half of her group crashing into the ground as a "landing", but every time they collectively crashed, there was a little bit of laughing at their equal misfortune.

* * *

At lunchtime, Reddling found himself in the mess hall with a salad and hay sandwich. He had purposefully sat himself in the middle of the table, which worked out well since Tops and Midnight had occupied one end of the table, while Bruiser and Nightshade had occupied the other end of the table with slightly more distance than the former pair. Reddling eventually found himself edging away from Nightshade until he was right next to Tops, who smiled over at him. Across the table, Midnight drew himself up to his full sitting height and puffed out his chest.

"Reddling, you must excuse me for intruding upon your business, but I must ask… Why did you choose to join the Night Guard?" Midnight queried. Reddling groaned in his head. It was another pony who wanted to ask him these kinds of questions.

"Nothing better to do." Reddling shrugged at the question, taking a bite of salad. Midnight's eyes bulged a little bit as his mouth dropped.

"Nothing better to do?! How can you make light of such a glorious honor?" Midnight said indignantly.

 _My honor lies elsewhere._ "It is a great honor to serve in the Night Guard, but in the end it is a mission with goals and standards. You must be tactful, and you must be precise. We are serving our purpose, and my life is uneventful. Thusly, I choose to be precise in this matter." Reddling ended it with a nod to himself, quite happy with his lie as he took a mouthful of sandwich.

Midnight stood up, his face flashing a bit of anger. "It is the greatest honor, to cast away the trappings of those sun-stricken fools, and to serve as a glorious Child of the Night!"

"Midnight sit down, you're ranting again." Tops said, waving a hoof at him. Reddling took a moment to ponder the zealot in front of him who had still not taken his seat, despite Tops' advice.

"Where is your hometown Midnight? If that's not so bold." Reddling asked.

"I have none! For I forsake that when I took upon this," Midnight spread out his wings, lifting his head up. "For the Glory of the Night!"

"Sit down and eat your food, we're going to be late." Tops rolled his eyes at Midnight. A soft snickering came from a corner and Reddling whipped around to see Web sitting in a corner, leaning on the back of a chair with her forehooves and watching them eat. Reddling wasn't sure how she got there, as he was certain that she had not been in the room with them before now.

Midnight opened his mouth to rant again, but at that moment he stopped as a shriveled apple flew across the room and hit him in the side of the head. At the other end of the table Bruiser was snickering as Nightshade calmly ate her food, pretending like nothing around her was happening.

"I will not-"

"MIDNIGHT, You. Are. Ranting!" Tops yelled. Midnight gave a snort of mild anger before sitting down grumpily and working on his food. The rest of the meal was continued in silence, as Midnight said nothing and Tops himself remained silent. Although Bruiser looked up a few times for conversation, Reddling kept his eyes averted to his sandwich while Nightshade hung out in her own little world at the farthest end of the table.

* * *

When the group found themselves back at the field, Web met them with a small cheer. "Congratulations! You're all competent fliers! Now we're going to learn something you're all going to be terrible at! I'm sure you've all noticed that bright lights really hurt. So you're going to learn how to fight without your eyes." Web tossed a pile of blindfolds on the ground. Everybat picked up a blindfold and attached them quickly. The blindfold was thick, and was more than useful enough to block out any ability to see anything.

"Now, you all know how bats work yes?" came Web's voice from directly in front of them. "Use your ears! Haha!" Reddling's ear twitches uncomfortably as Web let out one of her high pitched giggles.

 _It might be best if I hold back today. If I go all out I might hurt somepony, and they'll become scared of me. That won't help me blend in at all._ "Who're we fighting? Each other?" Reddling said to the air in front of him. He heard another giggle and the beat of wings as Web took to the air.

"Me!" Web declared. There was a swift rush of wind near them, then Bruiser let out an angry yell. Reddling stood still, listening to everything around him. There was a flapping of wings and a roar followed by the noise of Bruiser thudding against the ground.

"Missed!" Web teased from above them. Every time she spoke, she seemed to be less focused on the training aspect and more on the game aspect of her little fun. Despite his listening, Reddling still couldn't make out where everypony was.

"All of you call out locations! Communicate!" Reddling yelled. "Here!"

From across the training field, he heard an echo of Tops and Midnight simultaneously calling out "Here!" Reddling turned himself fully around as the beat of wings passed right by him. He heard the very familiar high-pitched giggle before the whooshing of something solid. Ducking back, Reddling felt the air in front of him part from whatever was swung. Twice more objects cut air before finally something hard and wooden smacked him in the side of the head. The world shook for a moment, little stars appearing on the blindfold.

There was another whoosh of wings as Web flew back to standing between everypony in the middle of the practice field. "As much as I like hitting you with this stick, you're gonna have to try and figure out how to see without your eyes eventually." Reddling felt the world vibrate, his ears twitching in pain from the high pitched scream that seemed to echo off everything in the field. Nightshade screamed again, and this time he turned to her direction.

"You're a bloody bat, use your voice!" Nightshade yelled. She let out another high pitched screech, and soon Reddling could hear the whooshing of two sets of wings. There was the sound of some scuffling, then a short whoosh of somebat falling from the sky before ending with a thud of their clumsy landing. Web let out another laugh, and everybat heard the smacking sound of her stick.

"Okay, you get it, tha- Alright, that's enough!" There was a smack which was followed by the bang of breaking wood. Web's voice had gone from being carefree and casual to suddenly harsh. Reddling removed his blindfold to look at the scene.

Midnight and Tops had lifted their blindfold off of one eye to check out was going on too. Web had discarded a wooden pole that lay at her side. From her face was a slowly dripping stream of blood running down her snout. Her view was dark as she glared at the body of Nightshade a few feet away, who looked dazed, an ear twitching and a blank look on her face. Reddling noted few flecks of blood on Nightshade's hoof before Web turned towards the rest of the group, Midnight quickly replacing his blindfolds.

"So, Nightshade gets it. Give her a round of applause." Web clopped her hooves together twice.

"What did she win, a beating?" Reddling asked, clopping his hooves only once.

"With your nifty new ears, if you squeak loud enough, you can hear echoes, good enough to 'see'" Web said, ignoring his question as she licked the blood from her muzzle with a thin tongue. Nobat dared approach her as she strode over to Nightshade, bending down and offering her a hoof. "Good job with that. Sorry for having a little too much fun with my stick." Nightshade wordlessly accepted the hoof, sitting up.

"Alright, we're done. Take the night off. Practice that. Or whatever." Web said, already wandering away from the field. Tops, Bruiser, Reddling, and Nightshade all exchanged glances, while Midnight stood at attention, staring off into the distance with his blindfold still on. Reddling went to the stands and took a seat, still exchanging looks of varied curiosity with the others.

"I'll say it then- So, what happened?" Reddling asked.

"I couldn't see." Tops said as Bruiser shrugged.

"I saw her, grounded her, and hit her. Then she hit me." Nightshade said simply. Reddling looked at each of them, then stood up, trotting away from the field.

"I suppose I'll see you all- uh- tomorrow then? I'm going for a- a fly…" Tops looked strangely happy about that statement as he spread his wings, awkwardly flapping into the air and flying away from the compound. Bruiser caught up to Reddling's side.

"We are dismissed? May we take off our blindfolds? Web? Web?" Midnight paced in a short circle, still at the practice field and apparently totally unaware that everypony else had left him. Nightshade had seemed to simply appear outside the mess, opening the doors and letting them clatter shut behind her with a moderate amount of banging.

"Mares, they're crazy." Bruiser said. "I'm going to the bar, seeya around." Reddling only glanced at his companion before continuing his trot to the eatery, looking over at Nightshade as he got inside.

"Are you alright?" Reddling asked, looking at her face. Nightshade's left eye was beginning to swell shut, quite badly bruised. There was also a long streak running down from her ear to her chin, marking the harsh welt that Web had left on her. Even under her dirty dead-white coat, the discoloration of her skin was becoming apparent.

"Yeah." Nightshade replied simply.

"You don't look alright, you should go see the medic… whoever that is." Both of them grabbed mangos and headed out the doors at the same time. Nightshade just shook her head.

"I'll be fine."Nightshade hissed. Turning to their respective quarters, neither exchanged any more words as the yellow moon glimmered over them.

Reddling was not sure how long it took before he wandered into the bar, but it was apparent that Bruiser had nestled himself in quite well by the time he got there. "Hey, where the hell are you!?" Bruiser yelled from his stool at the bar. Reddling sat down next to him as the faint angry sound of the earth pony hating his job greeted them.

"Hold your horses, you damn crazy bats, there's only two of us and we're busy." The earth pony slammed his hooves on something in the back, which proceeded to fall with a loud crash. The earth pony cursed mildly at whatever he was fighting with in the back while Bruiser turned to look at Reddling.

"Do you have something against bats?" Reddling looked down at the counter, which was slightly grimy with blue paint peeling at the edges. "…It must be terrible to be grounded."

The earth pony appeared at the bar, looking ragged and tired. "What can I get you?"

"Pint of Buckwater Beer." Bruiser said. Reddling just tapped his hoof on the counter, thinking about the vodka back home and how he was sure nothing in Equestria would measure up to the burn.

"I'll just have two shots of your cheapest vodka… Anything will do, whatever is cheap."

The earth pony filled up a flagon that frothed with amber liquid, setting it in front of Bruiser before pouring two shots and placing them in front of Reddling.

"Start me a tab, if you don't mind." Reddling said to the earth pony. Bruiser made a muffled sound that seemed like a growl mixed with choking and tossed a few bits in front of both of them.

"Nah I gotcha." Bruiser said, taking a swig of his beer. "Hell, you'll get me back one day. Doesn't matter."

 _I don't like owing things to Equestrians…_ "You here to forget something too? Or just relax?" Reddling asked. The earth pony grumbled away, muttering something about " _nocturnal"_ and " _how much his job really did suck_."

Downing a shot, Reddling yelled after him. "At least there are no sunburns in this job!"

Bruiser gave a laugh, holding up his flagon, "Leaving the past behind, I can drink to that!" he took a long swig. Reddling coughed at his empty glass, letting the pleasant burn of cheap liquor stab at his throat. Equestrian Vodka didn't have anything on Silverfield Vodka, but Reddling was sure that was because nothing could beat homemade.

"So, what were ya? Earth Pony? Unicorn?" Bruiser said, looking over at Reddling.

Reddling almost spilled his other drink with a shaking hoof. His mouth was half way to forming the word Pegasus before he forced out another lie. Or was it a lie? Sometimes he had problems telling the difference between his lies and his truths. "Earth Pony."

"Yeah, you can tell who's used to the wings and who isn't, no offense." Bruiser said, taking another swig.

"I wasn't prepared for any of this, I guess that shows though." Reddling said mildly, looking down at the clear thick liquid in his shot glass.

"Hell, I gotta say though, it's weird not having feathers." Bruiser stretched out his wing, patting the veiny webbing with a hoof and looking at the clawed edges. "Who would be prepared for this. I mean come on! First day I walked out and damn near died."

"What was it like, having feathery wings?" Reddling said, leaning in. This was the first time he'd had a Pegasus- or former Pegasus- alone that wasn't laughing at his accent. His heart picked up a little as he leaned in even further, keeping himself only maybe foot away from Bruiser now.

"Huh? Well, I dunno, I never thought about it. What's it like having legs? They're just a part of you. You're soundin' like Tops there, all philosophical about that crap." Bruiser said, staring at his beer for a moment before taking another large swig.

"Knowledge is power, my comrade." Reddling was considerably warmer with his words now, and his cold wall had parted for a moment to gain some information from the muscular stallion drinking away next to him.

"So you wanna know what Pegasi wings are like?" Bruiser said, giving Reddling a calculating look, almost as if he was a piece of fruit that he was debating on whether to eat or not.

"Yes I would actually… like to know all about it, if you're willing to share. I didn't meet any pegasi before I joined the service."

Bruiser sighed, thinking for a moment. "I guess it's kind of like this. They're softer and warmer. It itches if you don't take care of 'em, and you gotta preen every other day. You get 'em dirty and the feathers get all ruffled and don't lay righ- Ah! …I hope I can still walk on clouds."

Reddling found himself leaning forward more in spite of himself. "How does it feel when air passes through them?"

"Well, that shouldn't happen if you're taking care of 'em right. Feathers are airtight when they lay right." Bruiser said.

Reddling nearly moaned, just imagining how it must feel to have wings, but covered in feathers. "I always wanted to fly, I guess this is a blessing, but maybe uh, just an adjustment for you." Reddling found himself being nearly cordial with the stallion now, downing his second shot and staring at the room as his mind numbed over gently.

Bruiser let out a laugh, downing the rest of his beer. "Yeah, you're sounding like Tops now. Hey Barkeep, when is the sun up?" Bruiser yelled the second statement into the back rooms.

"There's a clock on the wall!" came and equally loud yell, followed by some unintelligible quiet cursing. The earth pony eventually appeared from the back, rubbing some glasses and setting them up for display. Bruiser looked at him and then let out a high pitched squeal. While Reddling could feel it bouncing off of all the walls, the earth pony didn't seem to notice at all. Bruiser ordered another beer, and the night descended into pleasant easy talking. Bruiser didn't talk much about his life before the Night Guard, and neither did Reddling, but they were able to hold a very steady debate about the finer points of rumors about the guard.

"So, I guess we're in this for life?" Reddling said, and Bruiser shrugged.

"You can retire after some time, or something." Bruiser grunted.

Reddling looked at his empty shot glasses. "I don't think retirement would suit me well. Not much choice of mares in this line of work either." Reddling had been unable to keep his mind off Web, it was as if she had occupied some part of his brain, and he did not like it. He was not one to get close to ponies, and he was not even altogether that fond of the mare. Still, whenever Web was around it was like the world became somewhat trancelike, leaving him feeling tired after she left. There was something unnatural about her, but he didn't necessarily find that to be odd or wrong. There hadn't been anything natural for a few days now.

"Least not any sane ones. Web and Nights both seem a bit batty." Bruiser replied, wiping his mouth. "Hah, I bet we will both be too by the time we're done here!"

"I don't think I can fit in to that extent… Although you know, Web is nice. I like her." Reddling lied, moving one of his glasses around idly with a hoof.

Bruiser let out a dismissive breath of air through his teeth. "None of us are here 'cause we fit in."

"A clique all of our own." Reddling stood up.

"The Night Guard!" Bruiser raised his flagon to toast the statement, then looked inside it disappointingly as a single remaining drop hit the counter.

"It's the thought that counts." Reddling assured him. Bruiser just shrugged, putting the flagon down.

"Well, I don't know about you, but I'm getting out of here before day. Reddling, you ain't half bad. Whatever the hell you did to end up here, forget about it." Bruiser turned, moving to the door.

Reddling nodded as his brain twisted inside. "You are not half bad yourself, we'll need to do this again with the others."

Bruiser laughed heartily. "Can you imagine Midnight drunk?"

"Imagine Web drunk… We'd end up with some bad torture scene in here." Reddling murmured, trying to keep his voice down.

Bruiser let out another laugh, and smacked Reddling on the back. It occurred to Reddling that Bruiser could probably hear everything he whispered just as well as any other bat around here with their enhanced hearing.

"See you tomorrow? Tonight? Ah who cares! Later!" Bruiser left the building, leaving Reddling to rub his shoulder and contemplate what an apt name Bruiser was.


End file.
